SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM

SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM

 

How many different baptisms are mentioned in the Bible?  A careful study of this word can be confusing, in (Eph 4:5) we read one, and in (Heb 6:2) we see the word listed in the plural form meaning more than one. We know that all scripture is the Word of God, and there cannot be any mistakes by a Perfect God. So therefore, any confusion in the use of this word in scripture must be in the area of our understanding, or lack thereof. In the past I have put together an article in which I mention "four baptisms", not just one, two or three. So let us take a closer look at the Biblical use of this word. The English word comes from a Greek word meaning to completely "immerse" some object into some medium such as water. So in the scriptures we can normally expect to find this as the common use of the word. In (Acts 2:38) Peter declared "each of you must repent from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". In most countries, when someone coverts from some other religion to faith in Jesus Christ, the persecution comes when they declare their faith in Christ by being publicly baptized. So I believe this would have to be the one common understanding of this expression for the use of this word. Of course there is not one agreed upon method of baptism, but we find many different modes used by different denominational churches.

 

Then in (1 Cor 12:13) we read "we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit". This is Paul's way of expressing our "new birth" experience that we see Jesus explaining to Nicodemus in (John 3:3), by which we become members of God's Forever Family by being "adopted" by the Father, and given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we are "born again". In (Matt 3:11-12) John the Baptist mentions that Jesus Christ will "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire", and we see the confirmation of this promise in (Acts 1:1-8) by Jesus. Then in chapter 2 we see the fulfillment of this promise to the 120 disciples that were gathered together to celebrate the annual "Feast of Pentecost". Here we see both the Spirit and the fire, so was this one or two baptisms on the same day? I considered this as 2 in my former article, but that was only because fire often refers to a process of "purging" to remove impurities, while the Spirit usually refers to "power". So it leaves us with a question of which the proper "Scriptural Baptism"?

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                         21/04/12

SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM

SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM

 

How many different baptisms are mentioned in the Bible?  A careful study of this word can be confusing, in (Eph 4:5) we read one, and in (Heb 6:2) we see the word listed in the plural form meaning more than one. We know that all scripture is the Word of God, and there cannot be any mistakes by a Perfect God. So therefore, any confusion in the use of this word in scripture must be in the area of our understanding, or lack thereof. In the past I have put together an article in which I mention "four baptisms", not just one, two or three. So let us take a closer look at the Biblical use of this word. The English word comes from a Greek word meaning to completely "immerse" some object into some medium such as water. So in the scriptures we can normally expect to find this as the common use of the word. In (Acts 2:38) Peter declared "each of you must repent from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". In most countries, when someone coverts from some other religion to faith in Jesus Christ, the persecution comes when they declare their faith in Christ by being publicly baptized. So I believe this would have to be the one common understanding of this expression for the use of this word. Of course there is not one agreed upon method of baptism, but we find many different modes used by different denominational churches.

 

Then in (1 Cor 12:13) we read "we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit". This is Paul's way of expressing our "new birth" experience that we see Jesus explaining to Nicodemus in (John 3:3), by which we become members of God's Forever Family by being "adopted" by the Father, and given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we are "born again". In (Matt 3:11-12) John the Baptist mentions that Jesus Christ will "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire", and we see the confirmation of this promise in (Acts 1:1-8) by Jesus. Then in chapter 2 we see the fulfillment of this promise to the 120 disciples that were gathered together to celebrate the annual "Feast of Pentecost". Here we see both the Spirit and the fire, so was this one or two baptisms on the same day? I considered this as 2 in my former article, but that was only because fire often refers to a process of "purging" to remove impurities, while the Spirit usually refers to "power". So it leaves us with a question of which is the proper "Scriptural Baptism"?

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                         21/04/12

DISCIPLESHIP AND RELATIONSHIP

DISCIPLESHIP and RELATIONSHIP

 

We are told by Jesus to "go into all the world and make disciples" (Matt 28:18-20), and not just converts or "church members"! Jesus expects us to have a relationship with the Father like He had, because as followers of His, we are "heirs and joint-heirs" with Him! (Rom 8:17) and (John 17:22-26)

So to be a "disciple" or follower of Jesus, we must develop a "relationship" with our heavenly Father. This starts with (John 8:31-32, 35-36) "You are truly my disciples IF you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free"!! Some people try to help God out with His Kingdom business without His approval. (Matt 7:21-23). Notice the word "iniquity" which means "without rules", or in disobedience or in other words ministry without relationship!

 

Paul uses an interesting term to describe the coming Antichrist in his second letter to the Thessalonians. (2 Thess 2:1-4). The term is "lawlessness", meaning a state of being completely without any law or order in our life. When this man comes on the scene at some time in the future he will actually be Satan "incarnate", to be a counterfeit of what Jesus was while in His human body. This will be Satan's final attempt to be "like the Almighty God". See his 5 statements of ambition as recorded in (Isa 14:12-23) which was the reason God cast him out of heaven. Lucifer never lost his ambition, and still thought he could become like God, see (Dan 9:27) for details of his making a "covenant of peace" with Israel for 7 years, but will break it at the mid-point. This is one of the main points of interest in the last 7 years period of life, as we have known it on our planet. This final 7 years is referred to as

"Daniel's Seventieth Week" and Jesus gave his disciples a description of what will happen on earth during that time in Matthew chapter 24.

 

So just in case we are still living during that time, it is critically important that we establish a "relationship" with the father now, by receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. When we do that, and become His "disciple", the Father then "adopts" us into His Forever Family, and we then have "Eternal Life" which starts here on earth and extends for ever and ever! This is why the Gospel of the Kingdom is called the "Good News" that everyone on earth needs to hear and receive personally. Have you done that yet?

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                    17/04/12

SIGNS OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH

SIGNS OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH

 

Recently when checking what I have written over the last few years on the subject of "baptisms" in scripture, I discovered how my understanding of this subject has changed. The first article I could find was written in March 2007, shortly after I started to use the computer. It was called "Three Baptisms", then three years later I put together one called "Four Baptisms", followed by one in July 2010 called "The Fourth Baptism", to try to explain what I meant about baptism number four. Does that sound confusing to you?

Perhaps it does, but I see it as a sign of my understanding of this subject changing over the years as I matured, and saw things a little bit clearer. This naturally required me to be open to receiving more "enlightenment" on this subject of "baptisms" (plural) from (Heb 6:2), and notice I don't use the term more "revelation". I don't believe in this often used term some prophetic people call a "new revelation", that they claim to have just received from God. I believe that God had all the revelations He ever wanted us to receive recorded in the Bible, and the proper term we should use is further "enlightenment" on this original "revelation"! And He gives this as we seek Him, and are willing to receive it from Him, and leave behind whatever our former understanding might have been.

 

I believe a lot of wrong doctrine has been introduced to the church over the years by well meaning people who had what they believed were "new revelations" possibly given to them by the "god of this world", pretending to be Almighty God our Creator! A careful study of early church history, right up to our 21^st century will reveal many such claims that have been adopted into "church doctrines", and have caused much confusion and divisions in the "Body of Christ", which is "His Church". Some of the more evident ones like the "secret rapture", or the "dispensational theory" can be easily proven false by a simple checking them against scripture, but some require further prayer and study to uncover the error they proclaim. Then there is the change that comes from simply receiving more enlightenment on spiritual truth by becoming more mature in our understanding of scripture, as in my case regarding the topic of baptisms. Our spiritual journey can be quite different from others, but we should be all growing from our "new birth", to "mature sons or daughters" in our Father's Forever Family. And if we cannot see growth from year to year, we should look for the problem, just like you would if you had a child that didn't grow toward maturity!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                17/03/12

 

Angelic Itervention

ANGELIC INTERVENTION IN HUMAN LIVES

 

There is an interesting little statement found in (1 Cor 11:10) that states that a woman should wear a "head covering because of the angels", which has been a source of contention in certain circles for years. In (Heb 1:14) we read angels are all "ministering spirits sent forth to those who will inherit salvation". But we know from other scriptures that there are some "fallen" evil angels, as well as God's righteous holy angels. These fallen angels that we mentioned in a recent article are now part of the devil's wicked evil army that fights against the people of God. This must be the "angels" that Paul is referring to here. The scriptures mention more than one group of fallen angels, beside the main group that followed Lucifer in his rebellion against God that caused his being cast out of heaven. (Isa 14:12-21). Then we read in (Job 1:6. and 38:4-7) the term "sons of God" is used for angels, long before there were humans on earth. This term is used again for angels in (Gen 6:1-2) were it describes apparently, the same group that Jude in the NT describes in (Jude 6-7) these angels left heaven which was their normal abode and had prohibited sexual perversion with human women. The offspring of those perverted unions were referred to as "giants" or the Hebrew word was "nephilim", from a root word meaning "to fall", which referred to these "fallen angels".

 

When you put all this together and compare the results of our extremely perverted sexual conditions today, we have to wonder why God hasn't destroyed our complete society again! Peter discusses this same subject in

(2 Peter 2:4-7), but thank God for the words from (2 Peter 3:8-9) that because of His long suffering, our generation has not been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. Apparently these particular fallen angels who in rebellion against God, left their former state and had these perverse sexual relations are now confined to a particular part of hell called in Greek [tartarus], awaiting judgment. But the ones who followed Lucifer in his rebellion still have access to the "heavenly realms" between the first and third heaven, which is often referred to as the heavenly places, where they function as the "rulers and powers" in the devil's evil army. These are the spiritual forces we battle against, besides the many "earth bound" demons that hinder our spiritual walk down here on earth. These demons can be cast out, but not the fallen angels that must be "displaced"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                24/03/12